


A Centaur Named Mouse

by Vox (Akumeoi)



Series: Centaur/Elf AU [1]
Category: No. 6 - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Boys Kissing, Centaurs, Elves, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Nezumi copping a feel as usual, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 11:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6327346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Vox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nezumi is a centaur. Shion is a wood elf. They are dorks. Kissing happens. It's cute. The end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Centaur Named Mouse

Once upon a time, there was a wood elf named Shion and a centaur named Nezumi, and they had been friends since both of them were twelve. At the time of this story they were both sixteen, and very much in love, though Shion hadn’t noticed and Nezumi wouldn’t admit it. 

If there’s one thing Nezumi _would_ admit (freely, often, and without being asked), it was how much he hated to be saddled, and how much the thought of carrying someone on his back pissed him off. It was a matter of centaur pride. That’s why Shion, who knew perfectly well how to ride anything vaguely equine, knew he could never ask Nezumi for a ride under any circumstances. Fortunately, Shion’s strong elf legs could easily keep up with Nezumi’s ceaseless galloping around. 

One fine morning, the two of them decided to go down to the lake to swim. This was a frequent occurrence in the sticky heat of summer. A recent thunderstorm had caused a tree to fall over the bridge they used on their normal route, so this time they forged their own path through the woods. Their final obstacle was a wide, open field, which contained only dry grass. 

“It’s so big and empty,” Shion said to Nezumi. “We should just run across it.”

“Just run?” 

“Yeah. We could race.”

Looking at Shion, who was thin, lithe, and athletic-looking, it was easy to see how he could enjoy running across a field. His long white hair, crowned with a ring of purple flowers, was sticking up slightly in the warm breeze. Because it was so hot, he was wearing nothing but a pair of cotton breeches held up by a thin leather belt, with a small pouch hooked into the side of the belt. His feet were bare. As for Nezumi, centaurkind did not generally wear clothing, trusting to their sturdy hides and sleek fur to protect them from the elements. Nezumi’s horse part was a soft dapple-grey, with a glossy black tail and equally glossy long black mane. He had four white socks, each coming up to about the knee. Both Nezumi and Shion had pointed ears.

Nezumi snorted, his tail flicking impatiently. “I’ll win, of course.”

“So? It might still be fun,” Shion said. 

“You have a messed up idea of fun. I don’t want to watch your pathetic attempt to beat me. You’ll just embarrass yourself,” Nezumi said, sidling forward and flicking his tail again, this time catching Shion across the butt.

“Hey!”

Nezumi grinned, showing all his teeth. 

“I’ve got an idea,” he said. 

“Oh?”

Nezumi backed up a bit, then bent his back legs so that he was half-crouched beside Shion. 

“Get on,” he said, jerking his head to indicate his back. 

Shion was completely taken aback. 

“Huh?”

“Get on, Shion,” Nezumi said, but Shion hesitated, looking uncertain. 

“What are you? Deaf?” Nezumi said. 

At that, Shion knew the opportunity would be fleeting. Throwing one leg over Nezumi’s back, he climbed on and Nezumi stood up. 

“Finally,” Nezumi said. “I thought this would be simple for even you, but I guess not. You can hold on to my mane if you have to, but don’t pull my hair out.”

By ‘mane’, Nezumi meant the stripe of long, thick hair that grew all the way down his human spine. 

“Yes, Nezumi,” Shion said meekly. He was too busy marvelling at the fact that he was actually sitting on a centaur’s back to protest Nezumi’s insults. He had always known that Nezumi liked him, in spite of the centaur’s prickly demeanour, but this was a little overwhelming. Nezumi’s back was warm and solid, his fur just as smooth as it looked from shoulder height. 

Before Shion could analyse the situation further, Nezumi said, “Morons with and without heart conditions should hold on right about now,” and took off trotting. An expert rider, Shion had no need to grab onto Nezumi’s mane – which Nezumi knew – but still he grabbed two handfuls of silky black hair and gripped Nezumi’s sides with his knees. 

Nezumi moved into a canter, then into a gallop. His hooves pounded the grass into push, and Shion clung on for dear life. His hair streamed out behind him – Nezumi’s was flapping in his face but he didn’t dare to let go of the stuff he was already holding. The wind dried the sweat on his bare chest and back. And when Nezumi leapt over a fallen log, Shion’s heart lurched so hard he thought it would fall out of his chest. They were _flying_. 

“This is amazing!” Shion yelled. 

Nezumi laughed breathlessly, and Shion’s heart swelled. 

As Nezumi turned to do another lap around the field, Shion began to notice something very interesting indeed, and that something was Nezumi’s human back. As he leant forward and then back again to make another jump (there was nothing to jump over this time so Shion suspected he was just doing it for the hell of it) his muscles rippled smoothly under his skin. Shion became fascinated with the simple elegance of that motion as they approached the lake again, Nezumi slowing to a canter. All of a sudden, Nezumi tripped. Shion found that he had forgotten to hold on, and was thrown forwards. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around Nezumi’s chest and clung on for dear life. 

Nezumi brought himself quickly back down to a trot and finally stopped. 

“You idiot,” he said, sounding amused. “They told me you were good at this sort of thing. What, did you get distracted by a butterfly or something?”

“Something like that,” Shion admitted, gingerly relaxing his grip, but Nezumi grabbed his wrists to keep him from letting go entirely.

“Oh?” Nezumi said, sounding almost offended now. 

“Uh…” Shion said, thinking fast. He couldn’t admit the truth, because Nezumi would only laugh at him – he knew that from experience. But Shion was a naturally truth-loving person. Somehow, it slipped out anyway. “Well, it’s just so elegant, the way you run,” Shion said lamely. 

As predicted, Nezumi laughed. Shion felt his cheeks burn and ducked his head down in embarrassment. Unfortunately, this meant getting a face-full of Nezumi’s mane. 

“You are painfully transparent,” Nezumi said. “Remind me to never trust you to lie about anything.”

“What are you talking about?” Shion said, a touch of grumpiness creeping into his tone. 

“Oh, come on, Shion!” Nezumi threw his hands up exaggerated despair, and Shion could have let go of him then – but he didn’t. Nezumi’s chest was hot and sweaty from the exertion of running around with someone on his back, but his chest muscles were just as well developed as the ones on his back, and Shion almost liked the feeling of them under his palms. 

“My dear, stupid wood elf,” Nezumi sighed. “If you’ve got half a brain, as you’re always insisting, now would be the time to use it.”

Shion had no idea what Nezumi was talking about or what he wanted Shion to do, so he just tightened his arms around Nezumi and pushed his face further into Nezumi’s mane with a small noise of protest. 

“Shion,” Nezumi said gently, after a minute of silence. 

“What?” Shion said sullenly. If there was one thing he hated, it was when Nezumi got all intellectual-sounding on him, like he knew something Shion didn’t know and would never understand. Shion knew he could understand anything Nezumi said, in spite of what Nezumi thought, but he had never been given a fair chance to prove otherwise. That wasn’t fair. 

“Shh, don’t be like that,” Nezumi said, twisting his torso around. Shion was forced to lift his head, but he didn’t lift his eyes. 

“Put your legs around me,” Nezumi said. 

“What?”

“Around my waist. The not-horse one. Go on.”

Thoroughly confused now, Shion did as he was told, locking his ankles together tightly. 

“Good boy,” Nezumi said, and behind his back, Shion rolled his eyes. Nezumi put his hands under Shion’s arms and swung him around so that he was now clinging to Nezumi’s front like a koala clinging to a tree. Nezumi quickly put his arms under Shion’s butt to support him, so he wouldn’t lose his grip and fall into the grass below. 

Shion found himself nose to nose with Nezumi, staring into his beautiful grey eyes. An emotion that he couldn’t name washed over him. Nezumi was lazily blinking his long black lashes, and Shion just – 

Shion couldn’t – 

Shion closed the final inch of space between them and kissed him. 

And this, _this_ must have been what Nezumi was waiting for, because he was quick to respond, quick to kiss back passionately and start moving his thumbs in little circles over Shion’s ass. Shion dug his fingers into the silky strands of mane running down Nezumi’s spin and gasped in surprise as Nezumi gently bit his lip. Nezumi took the opportunity to press his tongue into Shion’s mouth. 

One of Nezumi’s hands began to roam down the underside of Shion’s thigh. Shion let out a little noise of surprise and pressed himself to Nezumi’s sticky chest. He could feel Nezumi’s soft and supple skin against the entire length of his chest. Without much thinking about it, he began to run his hands over Nezumi’s back so he could touch those gorgeous muscles he had been admiring earlier. Nezumi deepened the kiss. 

But then Shion’s fingers brushed against the short-cropped fur where Nezumi’s human torso joined his horse body, and he snapped to his senses. He pulled away, panting and regretful. 

“Nezumi, is this really a good idea?” Shion said, frowning. With the half-lidded look Nezumi was giving him, it was hard not to lean forward and just go right back to kissing him. 

“Why not? Are you afraid your mom’s gonna find out or something?” Nezumi said, sounding impatient. His hand was still resting on the underside of Shion’s leg, and from the way it was crawling gently back towards his butt, Shion could tell that Nezumi wanted this conversation over with too. So they could get back to more pleasurable activities. 

“Well yeah,” Shion said, frowning. He wished he could tell Nezumi to take his hand off his leg – because it was making it hard for him to think, not because he wasn’t enjoying it – but if that happened he’d probably fall on his butt, and that would hurt. “Look… I’m an elf and you’re a centaur. You haven’t really thought this through, have you?”

Nezumi rolled his eyes. “We’re just kissing, Shion. It’s not like our tribes are at war anymore. Look, you’re ruining the moment. Why do I even wanna kiss a loser like you, anyway, huh?”

Shion felt so content from being kissed that he wasn’t even offended. Besides, that was just Nezumi, and Nezumi was the one he liked.

“Because I’m an attractive young wood elf who also happens to be your very good friend?” Shion offered. 

“Oh gods,” Nezumi said. “That’s it. You’re about to find out the punishment for people who ask me too many stupid questions.”

“Eh? What?” Shion said. 

Nezumi laughed. Without waiting for Shion to turn around or adjust his grip, he took off walking again. 

“Hey!” Shion said, clinging on for dear life. Nezumi walked slowly enough that Shion wouldn’t fall, heading straight for the treeline that separated the field from the lake. For one crazy moment, Shion wondered if Nezumi was going to put him in a tree. But no, he passed the trees and headed straight for the lake. 

‘Oh no,’ thought Shion. Clinging on to Nezumi’s front like this, he had a great view of Nezumi’s expression – a devious grin. Nezumi waded straight into the water until it was just up to his chest. 

He pinched Shion on the butt, and Shion gave a little yelp of surprise, relaxing his grip. Nezumi reared up on his back legs and flung Shion into the lake with a splash. 

When Shion resurfaced, coughing and rubbing water out of his eyes, Nezumi was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. 

“You – you –” Shion spluttered. Nezumi just laughed harder. 

“You – should – see – your – face,” he said, clutching his own sides. 

“I’ll get you for that!” Shion yelled, throwing both hands forward to splash water at Nezumi’s face. 

“Oi!” Nezumi yelled. Leaning down, he scooped up some water and threw it back at Shion. 

“Hey!” Shion said, partially blinded again. Nezumi’s aim was good. “Get back here!” Shion said, as Nezumi danced out of reach. Nezumi turned, kicked out with his back legs, and sent a huge wave of water over Shion, absolutely drenching him. 

“Oh – you –” Shion said angrily. 

The spent the rest of the afternoon throwing water at each other, getting wetter and wetter, until Shion convinced Nezumi to call it a truce. Afterwards, they both fell asleep on the sandy bank of the lake in the sun. But the kiss was not forgotten. 

~The End~

**Author's Note:**

> Going out on a limb with this one, guys. I was inspired by this [post](http://voxiferous.tumblr.com/post/109676645421/pantherwhales-spout-hubedihubbe-young) in which a young centaur gets used to wearing a saddle. It made me think of Nezumi...
> 
> Lol, it's too bad Nezumi doesn't canonically have another name. 
> 
> Hope you guys like it!


End file.
